President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela, a Communist himself for a brief period 30 years ago, was praised by President Kennedy during his recent visit to Washington as the “No. 1 enemy” of the Reds in Latin America. Betancourt obviously welcomed the accolade. He views his government, which has instituted land and tax reforms and which is using revenues from its oil resources to help raise the living standards of Venezuela's masses, as a sturdy obstacle to further Communist gains in the Americas. Kennedy indicated agreement when he toasted the Venezuelan chief executive, Feb. 19, as a symbol of what the United States wishes for “our sister republics of the hemisphere.”

Venezuela's exposed position has drawbacks. Communists, some trained in Cuba and supplied with arms by Fidel Castro's regime, have been waging a campaign of terrorism in the cities and oilfields of this rich Latin American nation for three years. They seem to be trying now to stir up enough chaos to force cancellation of presidential and congressional elections scheduled for next December.

Success in this endeavor would be a major blow to the future of democracy in the region; a primary aim of the Betancourt government has been the peaceful transfer of power, for the first time in Venezuelan history, from one elected government to another. The importance of accomplishing that objective was pointed up in the communiqué issued on Feb. 20 at the conclusion of Betancourt's conferences in Washington. President Kennedy pledged “full support” to Venezuela in combating “the all-out campaign of the international Communists, aided especially by their Cuban allies, to overthrow the constitutional government of President Betancourt.”